The Eye of the Storm
by Victoria618
Summary: She locked the door and threw the hand into the wall. She defeated the parody that was her Other Mother, and he helped her. For Coraline Jones, it should be over. However, dark entities can't be defeated that easily and a first defeat should not be treated as a final defeat. It will take all her wits and the help of her friends to battle old and new terrors.


**Hi everyone! As you can see this is not a Naruto fanfic (I thought I would try something new.) I am still continuing with my "Dear Fanfic authors…."and new chapter of that should be up soon (for those who are interested.) **

**I have always liked "Coraline" and especially the fanfic authors for the book, and you could say that I have been inspired recently to try my own. This is my first official story on this site and really, any criticism and feedback is generously welcomed. Also this is my first attempt at something a little more on the horror and suspenseful side of things.**

**So I hope y'all enjoy this! **

_Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat._

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

Defeat never felt good. It was like a sword that poked into one's flesh but never jabbing the vital areas. This way, the person would experience a slow, agonizing and humiliating feeling but a merciful death would never come. Defeat left a sour taste on the tongue. It's in human nature—no, in _any entity's_ nature to loathe this feeling.

Especially for an entity who has been used to winning for the past hundreds of years.

Never did she imagine, in all her glorious and terrifying power and cunning nature that she could lose. But, this wasn't just any loss. No, this loss was a loss of everything she once possessed. Her passage that created means of hunting prey, her source of power, her reign of terror, and her world.

All at the hands of a little girl who she once called "her daughter" and her prey, and in return, was called "the other mother" by the girl.

Perhaps she was overconfident from the claiming of three souls, or perhaps she underestimated the girl. The girl wasn't nearly as unhappy as she thought and more courageous, resourceful, and tricky than she imagined. Above all, the girl was willing to break the rules, unlike any child she has seen. The other three were greedier and more compliant, easily entranced by the shimmering wonders she crafted. The girl was enthralled at first but she saw through everything eventually. She cheated in their little game and won, while she paid the price.

The other mother, or as others would call her, the Beldam paced around the ruins and remainders of what was once called "the drawing room". Grey wooden boards were scattered and placed crookedly into the floor. Furniture in the shape of various bugs was turned over, slowly rotting and collecting dust. The Beldam scuttled over to the window on her long, metallic needles of legs. From there she could see an endless, white, nothingness of her world that once held violet hills and twinkling stars. She stared at it through her button eyes, which hanged a bit loosely from her eye sockets of her porcelain, cracked face.

_I was so close, and all it took was one ungrateful brat to ruin it all. _

The Beldam shifted her gaze and glared at the little door which would remain forever locked. She tried to reclaim the key only to have her chances thwarted. Her gaze drifted down to the bare needle stump that was once her right hand. It was now smashed and laid at the bottom of a well in the real world. The Beldam was angry. Oh yes, she was angry at the girl. However, she couldn't do anything about it accept for occasionally pound on the door to remind the girl that she was still alive. She knew that girl checked the little door on her side of the world every day, and she knew that it still unsettled her. That bit pleased the Beldam.

She did build everything for that girl. Made her favorite dishes, precisely removed each annoying quirk from her neighbors, splashed the world with vibrant colors, and made everything as extravagant and fascinating as she could. It was truly one of her, if not, her finest works of art. An intricate web of childish desires and subtle traps that would not be realized until it was too late.

And now, it was ruins.

Her life was slowly seeping out of her, her energy and powers were almost completely drained. She could not "refresh" like she used to, and now most of her energy went into keeping this small corner of her reality in check. She felt weak, an unfamiliar feeling. Time was running out and to create something would surely kill her.

A dark shadow suddenly began to slither through the cracks of the floor boards and a cold wind followed it. Strange, she thought, nothing should be able to get in at this point except for the cat (who knew entrances that she didn't even know of.)The Beldam cocked her head and stayed where she was, observing this mysterious shadow and trying to figure out what it is.

A shroud of darkness suddenly filled the space as the shadow began to materialize, concealing what this unknown entity was. From what the Beldam could tell, it appeared to be a figure taller than her, but that was all. Warily, she scuttled back a bit. Doing so, the figure chuckled—a deep, masculine chuckle that seemed to echo throughout the space and her mind.

"My, my…you truly have become reduced to ruins, Beldam." The entity said.

"Who….who are you, and how did you enter here? No one, should be able enter my world without my consent, I suggest you leave, whoever you are." The Beldam said coldly.

"My identity does not matter at this point, but I am sure it will become apparent to you later on. However, I do not think you should be making threats in your weakened state or I just might speed up the process that will ultimately kill you. But fear not, I am not your enemy."

"No?"

"No," the thing confirmed.

The Beldam glared at it, not sure if she should trust this thing or not. "Then why are you here?" She finally said.

"I am here…. to make proposition that will benefit you in every way possible." It said.

The Beldam grinned mirthlessly. "Oh really now?"

"Yes, I plan to restore you to not your former power, but greater than you possibly were." It explained.

The Beldam laughed without any humour. "And you believe that I should trust you, how do I know you're not going to kill me?"

"If I wanted to, I would done so already," The thing said idly.

The Beldam considered this, it did have a point, but this seemed a little too good to be true. Besides, she was one of the most powerful creatures in this realm, what power could this unknown entity have to offer her?

"Prove yourself."

Something darker than night slithered across the air and wrapped itself around the Beldam. Before she could slice off of her with her razor sharp nails, it absorbed itself right into her anarchic body. A jolt of energy was now coursing through her veins and she felt rejuvenated, as if she consumed twenty souls. Looking down, and to her amazement, her right hand was completely reformed. She felt her strength returning and even more of an unknown power. Death was leaving her body, and she felt alive.

She cackled gleefully.

"It's wonderful, is it not?" The entity said.

She nodded, but the smiled vanished from her face. "But what is the catch?"

"No, catch, I am simply helping a brethren in need." The entity stated simply.

The Beldam was baffled. "I find it hard to believe that you are freely giving me power. I must owe you something, or there is something that you want… "

"No, not at this moment, there is a debt but I will ask for your payment later should you choose to accept this gift." It explained.

The Beldam was silent. A payment later….that could mean anything, but, as much as she hated to admit it, she was desperate and did not have many options. However, she was a creature whose survival revolved around manipulation and trickery; surely she would find a way out if the debt was more than what she hoped. Yes, she could take its power, and then turn on it if she had to.

"If you choose not accept, you could always rot away here." It said cruelly.

"It's a deal, "The Beldam replied after a moment of silent pondering.

"Excellent, then I shall be looking forward to seeing you in the future again, but for now, this is a farewell, "The thing said before vanishing from this world.

The Beldam smirked and began to test out her newly restored powers. She watched with endless joy as the drawing room and her workshop was rebuilt. The floors were polished and the walls were set nicely into place. Deep blues and blacks adorned with stars filled the empty whiteness once again. Scuttling over to her workshop, she allowed her metallic appendages to gingerly run over her sewing machine and arrays of buttons. She smiled and walked back over to the drawing room, staring at the little door.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to cross over into the real Pink Palace at this moment, for she still needed the key. But she had a better an idea and with her strength she could exact this plan into motion.

Tracing an appendage over the wall, she slowly drew a doorway that looked identical to the other one that led to Ashland, Oregon. But the only difference was that it would connect to somewhere completely different. Where exactly was a mystery to the Beldam at the moment but she was ready lure a new prey over. Once she had a visual of the new child in her mind, smiling sadistically, she made her way over to her workshop and began crafting a new doll. When she was done, she threw it out of the window and allowed it to descend into the other reality.

Eventually that girl will pay. The Beldam will bring her back, and make her wish she never crossed the Beldam.

But first, she had to reconstruct a better version of a suburban home that lied in Phoenix, Arizona.


End file.
